Advice for you, a new player in Eaxia: Feats are abilities that you can learn that enable you do or use something. For example, the Simple Weapons Proficiency feat can enable you to use a particular simple weapon. Some classes also have specific feats like Monks, who can purify toxins from their body after learning the feat. Some classes gain feat points after every few levels, allowing you to use the feat points in learning new feats. You can learn feats from various non-playing characters (NPCs) throughout Eaxia, usually in cities.
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All the old feat teaching guys are still around, you can see what they taught if you Look at them, but when we switched to abilities they became inactive. It would be neat to see them each used for something eventually perhaps when Professions become active, Like the shield teacher at the west gate of Semanri or the Heavy Armor Knight helping an professional armorer learn to make something (recipe) for example.

Yes, the feat system as described in that now removed New User Advice message is no longer in use. Feats/abilities are handled by the individual guilds and are learned upon joining. As the other posters have stated, the old feat teaching NPCs are still around. The idea of using these for quests and other related systems is interesting, bears looking into.